GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Two entrepreneurs who want to create Stay Hostel, West Michigan’s first lodging for budget travelers, have restructured their business plan.

Tom Damitio and Matt Knaack are trying to raise $50,000 in startup funding through an online method called “crowdfunding.”

The partners began their appeal on a website called Indiegogo.com on Tuesday, April 15. As of Thursday, they had raised nearly $1,700, 3 percent of the goal.

The fundraising effort is designed to raise enough money to buy towels, beds, linens and other amenities needs to operate their hostel for the first six months, Knaack said..

The pair said they are still in the process of identifying a location they can lease for their hostel. Knaack said they are looking for a building in a commercial zone so they do not run afoul of city codes that limit boarding houses in residential zones.

“We want it to open sooner rather than later and we want it to be in the downtown proper,” Knaack said.

Depending on the space they find, Knaack said their hostel could accommodate between 12 to 30 guests. While some of the space will offer dormitory-style sleeping accommodations, they also intend to have private rooms, he said.

The crowdfunding appeal will offer their donors some rewards for participating. A $1 gift puts the donor’s name on their mailing list, while a $50 donation guarantees one free night upon opening.

For $500, they will give their donor naming rights to a bathroom while a $2,000 donation will confer naming rights to one of the bunkrooms. The $50,000 crowdfunding appeal will end on May 30, Knaack said.

Although the hostel concept has been challenged by alternative travel services such as Airbnb.com and Couchsurfing.org, Knaack said they are confident the demand for a hostel remains strong among young travelers.

Airbnb users have run afoul of city ordinances governing the bed and breakfast industry, Knaack said. Couchsurfing, which offers free accommodations to travelers, is too uncertain and offers limited services for many travelers, he said.